Oven to 180C / gas 4. Grease a 450g loaf tin and line the base and ends with a strip of baking paper.

Make sure the lemon thyme leaves are dry before you chop them. Place in a food processor with the caster sugar and whizz until the sugar turns lightly greenish and the leaves have been finely chopped.

Add the butter and lemon zest and whizz until fluffy, then gradually add the eggs. Mix in the lemon juice, then whack into a bowl and fold in the flour and salt.

Spoon into the loaf tin. Bake for 20 minutes, then loosely cover the top with foil if it is browning too quickly and bake for a further 20-25 minutes or until well risen and golden. Test by inserting a skewer into the cake; if it comes out clean its cooked.

To make the icing, stir the finely chopped lemon thyme into the icing sugar and add enough lemon juice to form a thick icing which, annoyingly, is just over half a lemon.

While it’s still in the tin transfer the cake to a wire rack. Leave for 5 minutes, then remove from the tin onto the rack, and spoon the icing over the top of the warm cake. It will drizzle down the sides. Leave to cool.